Journal

Donald G. Longcrier, Artist Journal/Blog

Feast Day of St. Joseph

In celebration of the Feast Day of St. Joseph, here are a few images from the shop during the building of Untitled (Wooden Fish), 2013.

Facing the Desert and Thomas Merton

Facing the Desert and Thomas Merton

I owe a great deal to Thomas Merton. I chose the title of Facing the Desert, my exhibition at [Artspace] at Untitled, based on the quote from Merton in my artist's statement.

"In The Silent Life, Thomas Merton states that 'the monastic horizon is clearly the horizon of the desert…His [the monk’s] eyes are not turned towards the battlefields in the plain [rather] they gaze out upon the desert…' ”

-Donald G. Longcrier, Facing the Desert, [Artspace] at Untitled2001

Installation View:

Art Now Shine at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center

Art Now Shine opens today at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center and runs through February 7. The Gala event and fundraiser is Friday, January 24.

Here is a peek at one of my small sculptures chosen for the exhibition.

Photography: ©Brett Deering

Article in Art Focus by Laura Reese

Here is a link to OVAC's Art Focus magazine and an article by Laura Reese about Wooden Fish at MAINSITE Contemporary Art in October and November 2013.

http://issuu.com/ovac/docs/artfocus-janfeb14/1

Wooden Fish by Donald Longcrier

Installation view: Untitled( Tape Measure, Anvil), Paper, steel, tape measure,

Wooden Fish by Donald Longcrier. Images of the exhibition at Mainsite Contemporary Art have been added to the Gallery page and Exhibitions and Installations page of this website.

Photography by Brett Deering

Wooden Fish at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Untitled (Whitehall Skiff), Wood and rope with objects, 70"H. x 192"L. x 104"D. 2013

Wooden Fish by Donald Longcrier at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Closing Reception and 2nd Friday Art Walk

November 8, 2013 6:00 - 10:00pm

Wooden Fish at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Wooden Fish by Donald Longcrier at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Installation of tape measure pieces at Mainsite Contemporary Art.

I have spent the better part of two years collecting more than 10,000 feet of yellow, cloth carpenter's tape measures. There are four days remaining in my exhibition, "Wooden Fish" at MAINSITE Contemporary Art in Norman. Come by and see what I did with approximately 7500 feet of tape.

Artist Talk: Thursday, November 7. 7:00 pm

2nd Friday Art Walk: November 8, 6:00-10:00 pm

Artist Talk at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Wooden Fish by Donald Longcrier

Artist Talk: Thursday, November 7. 7:00 pm

Photography courtesy of Mainsite Contemporary Art

Wooden Fish: Installation of Untitled (Whitehall Skiff) at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Wooden Fish: Installation of Untitled (Whitehall Skiff) at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Installation Wooden Fish and final assembly of some of the larger pieces was accomplished with the help of Sandra Longcrier, and Elizabeth and Billy Dyer.

Unloading the base beam for the boat cradle assembly of Untitled (Whitehall Skiff).

Front: Michigan Steel Boat Company 14' Whitehall Skiff

Back: Untitled (Tape Measure 2)

Installation view: Untitled (Whitehall Skiff), Wood and rope with objects,

Wooden Fish: Review, The Oklahoman

http://newsok.com/wooden-fish-swims-against-the-tide/article/3897129

Wooden Fish: Construction of Untitled (Whitehall Skiff)

Wooden Fish: Construction of Untitled (Whitehall Skiff)

Whitehall Skiff, photograph by Robert Ross

Fourteen foot Whitehall Skiff manufactured by the Michigan Steel Boat Company of Detroit Michigan in the early decades of the twentieth century. The rowboat has a steel skin and was procured in Massachusetts.

Delivery of Michigan Steel Boat Company Whitehall Skiff.

Construction of the boat cradle begins in the studio. Cradle measurements when completed:

70" H. x 192" L. x 104" D.

Construction of the rope net for the boat cradle. The cradle net is woven using manila rope that is 1 1/8" and 1 1/4" in diameter. The end connections are made by splicing the rope using a traditional fid.

The perimeter of the net is made with 1 1/4" five-strand manila rope.

Boat cradle net, approximately 60" x 96".

Wooden Fish: Construction of Tape Measure Pieces

Wooden Fish by Donald Longcrier

Contruction of Untitled (Tape Measure 1,2,3), 108" H. x 108" W. each, Tape measures on wood.

The Tape Measure pieces began with a two year effort to acquire enough yellow, cloth, carpenter's tape measures to accomplish all three pieces. My calculations estimated a need for between 7500' and 10,000' of carpenter's tape. The search required almost two years and yielded more than ten thousand feet of tape.

Tape measures exceeding ten thousand feet in total length

To prepare a surface on which to tack the tapes, panels were constructed of one half inch plywood, 108" x 108" each.

Tape measures were then attached to the panels with half inch nails. The process began at the center of each panel and worked continuously outward until the edge was reached.

The construction of each Tape Measure piece utilizes between 2200 feet to 2500 feet of carpenter's tape. There are approximately eleven to twelve thousand nails per piece.

Installation view: L-R, Untitled (Tape Measure 1,2,3), 108" H. x 108" W. each,

Wooden Fish at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Wooden Fish at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Installation View: Untitled (Tape Measures, 1, 2, & 3), Tape measures on wood.

Wooden Fish at Mainsite Contemporary Art

Wooden Fish by Donald Longcrier

The wooden fish is a simple percussion instrument used in some Buddhist traditions to maintain a rhythm while reciting sutras and Buddhist scriptures. Originally a large, carved fish found hanging outside temples along with the bell and gong; it was used to call monks to their assigned duties. The fish in Buddhist tradition never sleeps and therefore symbolizes wakefulness.

My work springs from a longtime interest in the contemplative life in both Western and Eastern traditions. I work with materials that are familiar to me: rope, wood, beeswax, carpenter’s tools, and fishing tackle. Individual pieces are quiet. Objects are presented in the simplest possible way, without embellishment or decoration.

Wooden Fish at Mainsite Installation

Wooden Fish by Donald G. Longcrier opens at Mainsite Contemprorary Art in Norman, Oklahoma on Friday, October 11. The exhibition runs through November, 9.

Opening Reception: Friday, October 11, 6:00 - 10:00 pm.

Artist's Talk: Thursday, November 7, 7:00 pm.

Closing Reception: Friday, November 8, 6:00 - 10:00 pm.

Installing Untitled (Whitehall Skiff)

Wooden Fish (Big Lumber)

Wooden Fish by Donald G. Longcrier required a trip to Timber and Beam Solutions of Tulsa for some oversized lumber.

It is impossible to complete some of the projects that I attempt without the help of others. I owe a "Thank you" to Dean West, Leanne, Georgio, and the gang at Timber and Beam Solutions for helping me load up. Thanks also to Bruce Haynes of Haynes Remodeling and Construction of Norman, OK.

A really, really big "Thank You" to Sandra Longcrier for helping me unload at the shop. That's Sandra's steel toe in the foreground.

Sometimes you get lucky! If a water pump has to go out, at least it waited until we were backing the trailer up to the studio door.

Wooden Fish by Donald G. Longcrier will be at Mainsite Contemporary Art in Norman, Oklahoma in October 2013.

Blackwell Flour Mill

For those of you in the Tulsa area:

"Tune in or set those DVR's tonight on NBC Channel 2 to watch "The List" at 6:30! West Construction will be featured on their national segment for our reclamation projects with the Blackwell Flour Mill and an 1850 Confederate Civil War era Tennessee Barn!"

Blackwell flour Mill

Blackwell Flour Mill and Dean West of Timber and Beam Solutions of Tulsa, Oklahoma featured in story on News On 6.

NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

Blackwell Flour Mill

I spent the afternoon at the Blackwell Flour Mill in Blackwell, Oklahoma. Timber and Beam Solutions http://www.timberandbeam.com/ and West Construction of Tulsa, Oklahoma are dismantling the mill and reclaiming all construction materials.

Tonight, July 24, on Tulsa News Channel 6, at 10:00 pm, Scott Thompson will have a feature story on the Blackwell Flour Mill.

According to their project website: http://www.blackwellflourmill.com/

"Timber and Beam Solutions, along with West Construction, has the privilege to reclaim one of the oldest and largest wooden structures in Oklahoma. The Blackwell Flour Mill was established in 1885. Western Oklahoma was built on wheat, and farmers for miles around brought their wheat to be milled. This iconic structure helped families to survive The Great Depression and The Dust Bowl by supplying bread to the hungry. Being an essential organ to the heartbeat of America, it would be wonderful to bring awareness of reclaiming this building to the public."

Thank you Dean West and crew for showing me around the site. Over the coming days, I will be posting a few photographs of the mill.